NEED is a perfect brand, there is no product, just the image. Need is a test environment for exploring brand building and consumer culture in western society. The Need project was inspired by the observation that marketing awakens artificial needs and desires in people.

The project consists of three parts: a marketing campaign, a website (www.needweb.org) and the exhibition. The marketing campaign imitates and re-mixes commonly used methods for product promotion and branding. The website seduces the customer to join the Need Members Club and give out personal information in order to gain access to Need services.

The main content of the project can be found in the Needweb. The high accessibility of the Internet makes the website the core element of the Need-project.



            

In the F2F-exhibition, the installation is a showroom type "shop-in gallery". Need package design samples are promoted in a bright and clinical space. A computer panel with direct connection to the Needweb is mounted on the central cabin of the shop. This is the main interactive component for audience participation in the exhibition installation.

Need is an online project that can be experienced independently on the internet. Visiting the exhibition further enhances the participatory experience.

Need team

Tuomo Tammenpää : Concept, Design, Artistic Control
Tom Niemi : Database Programming
Seppo Tammenpää : Installation Engineering
Heidi Tikka : Mentor

Special thanks : Minna Tarkka, Yves Bernard, Juulia Kauste, Marko Tandefelt and Sari Kippilä

NEED is produced by Mindworks Ltd. and supported by AVEK,The Promotion Center for Audiovisual Culture in Finland, Grafia ry and Westlux Ltd. Finland.

Tuomo Tammenpää has a background in photography and graphic design. He holds a B.A. in Photography from the University of Arts and Design, Helsinki (UIAH), and an MA in Photography and Interactive Art from the UIAH Media Lab. During the 1990's he has participated in several exhibitions in Finland, Scandinavia and Central Europe with his video and media installations. At the moment Tuomo works as the Creative Director in the Mindworks Ltd., a Helsinki based digital design production company.

The Need project was initiated in 1997 and has since been under continuous progress. The different phases of this development form a series of exhibition installations and campaigns. The website was redesigned in 2000. In the near future, documentation of older phases will be displayed in the Needweb.

Tuomo Tammenpää: tuomo@mindworks.fi, Curriculum Vitae